


Embracing the Shadows

by orphan_account



Series: Shadows [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, OC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-12 16:19:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16876140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The Second Installment of the Shadows Series.After spending some time with the Avengers and starting to control her wolf side, Adeline "Eden" "Addy" Cohen is learning what it is to be part of a team.  Starting with getting to know the rest of the team and letting them know when things are too rough.  Especially when her past comes back to haunt her.---Bucky struggles with his emotions when it comes to Addy.  Not only does he have to learn how to love again with her, but he also has to learn to let the others in.  One thing he knows, the two of them will struggle together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Running Away**

Bucky stands behind Addy as she stops in place, tensing up as everyone stops talking in the main room. She turns back and looks at him and he gives her a reassuring nod, smiling at her softly. She chews on her lip and he ignores the urge to watch the pink skin being abused between her teeth. The slim-fitting clothes she's wearing are not helping, either.

He swallows thickly as she turns around, glad for a moment that she can't see his reaction to such a common action.  _Get a grip, Barnes,_  he thinks to himself.  _You're supposed to be emotionless. This small girl shouldn't be able to get through to you._  He looks at her again and shakes his head.  _Of course, this beautiful dame is getting to me. Look at her._

He sighs softly as he steps beside Addy, knowing that she's worried and scared of facing the group. Hell, he'd be too knowing how Tony's probably going to go off on her about nearly killing him.  _He'd like that, actually,_  he thinks after a second.

He steps ahead of her and nearly glares at everyone when he sees all of their eyes on him. He hears Addy follow after him and not even a second later, everyone's gaze turns to the girl standing behind him. He walks over to the couch and takes a seat, turning to look at her once he's settled.

She followed him for a few steps before stopping and hugging her arms around her stomach almost insecurely. She's looking down at her bare feet and he can see her beginning to tremble with everyone's eyes on her.

"Why don't we all take a seat?" Sam says, pushing off of the far wall and taking a seat in one of his armchairs. Addy automatically does as he says and passes by him, taking a seat right next to him. She's so close to him that her arm is nearly brushing against his left one.

He doesn't turn to watch Tony and Bruce move out of the kitchen and into the living room. Tony drags a stool behind him and sits it in front of the couch, sitting on it so he can rest his arms on the back of it since it's one of the stools that actually has a back to it.

Bruce sits on the love-seat and Steve takes up the remaining armchair. Why he has so many seating options if he's the only one who uses this apartment, he has no idea. He glances at Addy as he leans back into his chair and a frown pulls at his lips when he sees her tense and staring downwards, nearly baring her throat to everyone.

"Okay," Tony says suddenly, making her jump and flinch as her head shoots upwards. He clenches his hand to stop himself from frowning fully as he sees her eyes begin to turn that beautiful glowing gold color. "We need to know what the hell happened out there and why you nearly killed Barnes." Tony doesn't hold back on his sharp tone and she flinches at it. It only causes him to clench his hand tighter.

"She didn't nearly kill me, Stark," Bucky bites out, narrowing his eyes at the man. "If I thought she was going to hurt me or kill me, I would have gotten her off me within a second." Tony gives him a dry look and narrows his eyes as well.

"Those marks on your throat beg to differ," Tony rebuts tensely. Addy's head shoots to him and her eyes are shining a brighter color as they widen and train in on his neck. He tilts his head down slightly to make sure she can't see the small red marks where her teeth dug into his skin. While she didn't break the skin at all, there are still indents from where her teeth pressed into him.

"I hurt you?" she says, her voice small and a higher pitch than usual. Her eyes flicker to his and he can see the guilt clearly and self-loathing clearly. He shoots Tony a glare and shakes his head, tilting his head upwards to show her that she didn't hurt him.

Her hand inches forward slightly as if to touch him before she pulls it to her chest. He knows that she doesn't want to touch him in fear that she'd hurt him. "Told you that you didn't hurt me, Addy," he says, angling his head downwards so he can see her easily.

"Addy?" Steve questions, a perplexed look on his face. Bucky's lip forms a line as he looks over at Addy, who looks frozen in place. He manages to catch her eye and she gives a minuscule nod.

"Her first name's Adeline," he says shortly, looking over at Steve. He can see the hurt in his eyes and he knows that he's wondering why he didn't tell him this little tidbit of information. "Eden's a nickname and so is Addy."

"What's your last name?" Bruce asks her curiously. Addy frowns softly as she returns her gaze to her lap. She frowns slightly and he knows that she's deciding whether or not to tell them who she is.

"Cohen," she says softly, tugging on her sleeves. She lifts her head up and meets his eyes. "My name is Adeline Cohen, I grew up in Oregon near Astoria.  I ran away when I was fourteen." She looks down and chews on her lip.

 _"There is one match for the missing person's database in Astoria, Oregon for Cohen, Adeline, Mr. Stark,"_  Friday's voice suddenly booms throughout the room. It causes Addy to jump and tense up as her eyes wide.  _"Her father, wealthy businessman Joseph Cohen, reported her missing on the seventeenth of June in two-thousand-ten."_  He turns towards Addy as she stills in her seat, her face pale and her eyes wide as she doesn't look like she's breathing.

"Now," Tony starts, turning towards Addy with curious eyes, his thoughts obviously no longer on the reason as to why she nearly killed Bucky. "What would make a girl run away from home where she has everything she wants?"

Her tone is flat and shaky as she speaks. "Who said anything about having anything I wanted?"

**Author's Note:  And this is the first chapter of the second book and I'm already starting with a cliffhanger!  It's still a bit shorter than I wanted, but, I finally got it out.  I've been debating how to start for a bit.**


	2. Chapter 2

***I’m going to have to give everyone a warning on graphic violence and name calling.**

**Memories be Damned**

The room is silent as her words hang in the air and she sits stiffly in the seat, not at all comfortable with the predicament facing her.  _At least they’re not asking me about why and how I lost control out there,_  she mutters to herself. She thinks for a few moments.  _I think I would actually prefer them asking me questions rather than focusing on my past._

“What do you mean?” Sam says softly, his voice holding a tilt of confusion as he looks at her. “What do mean that you never had anythin’ that you wanted? Surely you’d have some things since your father’s got money.” She looks down and clenches her hands into fists as she tenses in her seat, clenching her jaw tightly.

“Maybe when I was a little girl,” Eden says softly, playing with her fingers to distract herself from what she’s sharing. There’s a reason as to why she’s decided to not share much about who she is over these past two months, and she’s not sure if she should talk about it at all. “I remember I had a lot of stuff when I was little but not when I was older.” She looks up at them. “I ran away, remember?”

“Why’d you run away?” Tony blurts out, looking at her curiosity. She can sense that he’s purely curious and he’s not too angry or upset with her anymore. However, the question makes her frown and shrink in on herself as she sucks in a deep breath.

She just shakes her head instead of providing a verbal answer. It’s too hard to think about and she knows that she’ll get a flashback if she thinks too much about it. But apparently, fate has other plans for her tonight.

“Does it have anything to do with the scars on your back?” Bruce prods calmly, causing her to freeze and her eyes to widen in fear as they snap to his warm brown ones. She can feel James tense up from beside her.

At her shocked gaze, he elaborates. “When you were brought in, we had to look you over for injuries. I was curious as to why you have scars that look more than ten years old, but I decided not to prod because you were still getting comfortable around us.”  _Not that I am now,_  she thinks through the fear.

She pulls her knees to her chest as she begins to tremble, her heart racing in fear. “You...” she falters as she gasps for breath. “You saw my scars?” Her voice is barely above a breathy whisper and more innocent sounding than she expected.

Everyone looks at her with concern and confusion written on their faces, but she keeps her eyes on Bruce. He looks uncomfortable under her wide-eyed and fearful stare as he slowly nods his head. “I saw the ones on your back. Those were the only ones I know of, though.” She can feel herself relax a bit at the statement, glad he hasn’t seen the other ones.

“Did...?” Steve’s voice falters as she turns towards him with a trembling stare. “Did someone  _hurt_  you?” She looks down at the question, knowing what he’s implying. She doesn’t provide an answer, though as Tony speaks again.

“You said when we first questioned you that you were already used to pain before HYDRA found you,” he states slowly, leaning forward against the back of his stole. She swallows as she remembers what she said in the interrogation and she wishes that she hadn’t answered any of their questions. “Were you abused?”

All of the air leaves her lungs at the last word and her whole body coils tightly and she presses her head against her knees.  _They know._ She whimpers softly as she shakes.  _They know._  She gasps out softly as a memory rushes through her, causing a splitting headache.

_She cowers against the ground in a curled up ball as he stands over her, a shattered bottle held in his hands. She holds in her whimpers as he shouts at her, spit flying everywhere as he looks down at her with enraged eyes._

_“It’s your fault she’s gone!” he slurs slightly, stomping closer to her. She winces and gasps sharply in pain as his hand tangles itself into her dirty knotted hair. “It’s all your fault, you little bitch.” He pulls her up by her hair and she scrambles to her feet, holding onto her hair to try and soothe some of the ache in her skull._

_“You killed her!” he snarls into her face, the bottle slashing towards her. She cries out as it cuts into her arm, but it’s only a scratch and less bad than she’s used to. He throws her back to the ground and she lands on her already bruised arm, him throwing the bottle against the wall. It shatters and she winces as some of the glass cuts into her arm._

_“You’ll be punished for this,” he snarls, his hands going to his belt. He pulls it off and wraps the leather end with the holes around his hand, pulling her towards him and positioning her so her back’s facing him._

_She tries desperately to scramble away, but it’s too late as the belt buckle flies towards her, tearing the back of her shirt open..._

A sharp feral whine leaves her throat as she presses her back into the couch, her eyes burning with unshed tears and something else. A startled sound cuts of her whine as her shoulder pops out of place painfully. Her hand instinctually flies towards the area as her other shoulder pops out of place as well.

" _Shit_ ,” she hears Sam cuss. “Uh, guys...” She shakes and a soft whine leaves her throat as the fire within her grows even stronger and hotter than ever before. She gasps out and flinches as a cold hand rests on one of hers.

Her gaze immediately goes to James’ panicked, but somehow focused eyes. “Addy,” he says softly as her arms begin to painfully morph. “It’s okay, you’re okay.” She shakes her head as another whine leaves her throat, the pain much more painful than she’s experienced during shifting.

“She must have had a flashback,” she hears Sam mutter somewhere in the background. Something prods at her memory and she remembers him saying something about helping out with vets who have PTSD ans such. “It must have triggered her shifting from what you’ve guys told me.” She turns her head in the man’s direction, but a warm hand grips her chin softly.

She allows James to turn her gaze back to his and she stares into his dark blue eyes that are somehow distracting her. She winces as her legs begin to morph and she knows that she’s going to have to take her clothes off soon so she doesn’t ruin them.

“You have to stop shifting, doll,” he says in a shockingly calm and steady voice, his thumb brushing over her cheek. She goes to tell him that she can’t. That she doesn’t know how, but he stops her before the words even begin to leave her mouth. “I know you can do it and I know that it hurts, but you have to  _try_. Can you try for me, doll?”

She whimpers softly and her face scrunches up in pain as her spine begins to morph. She takes in a shuddering breath as he continues staring at her and nods her head jerkily as pain blooms throughout her body.

He grabs her face with both of his hands and she’s forced to look into his eyes. “Listen to me, Addy. Close your eyes and listen to me, just like we do with training.” Sometimes during her training she’d get too overwhelmed and she’d nearly shifted, but she’s never  _actually_  started shifting before. James was always there to calm her down so she didn’t shift.

“You’re okay. You’re safe. Trust me, doll. I won’t let anyone hurt you. You’re safe with me.” She breathes in deeply, completely drowning out the voices of everyone around her, focusing on James’ voice. “Now, can you imagine the fire burning in you? Can you see it?” She whimpers as she imagines the fire that’s raging through her.

It’s much larger than she’s ever imagined it to be and it feels much hotter than it usually is. She feels like she’s burning alive. She breathes in a shallow breath as she focuses on the fire, knowing what to do next.

She imagines it slowly going down, James’ hands grounding her as a full-body shudder causes hot-white pain to rush through her. A whimper leaves her throat and James pulls her into his lap, resting his forehead against his.

A low whine leaves her throat, but she can feel her body slowly beginning to turn back to normal. She pants as she trembles in James’ arms, her arms and legs morphing back into their human positions. She lets out a heavy breath and her shoulders slump as her shoulders pop back into place.

She turns her head to rest it on James’ shoulder, feeling weak and way too overexerted. Especially after shifting a few hours earlier which drained her of much of her energy. The room is silent as he rests his metal hand against her back.  _This feels nice,_  Eden thinks softly. The cool of the metal seeps through her sweater and cools down her flushed skin.

“Are you okay, doll?” his says softly into her ear, low enough that she can barely catch it. She nods her head and a shuddering breath leaves her. She reluctantly slides out of his lap and she can feel everyone’s eyes on her. She wraps her arms around herself and leans into James for support, exhaustion making her limbs feel heavy despite the fact that she had woken up no more than thirty minutes ago.

“Uhm,” Tony says, clearing his throat. She opens her eyes that she hadn’t realized that she closed and she looks over to him. “We can finish talking tomorrow.” He sounds almost reluctant and he seems to be forcing the words out, but she’s happy that she doesn’t have to bother with talking with him again tonight.

Sam gives her a meaningful look and she averts her gaze over to Steve. His eyes are darkened with sadness and concern, but his face is calm and he has a soft smile on his lips. “We’re going to leave,” he says standing up. “You’re still tired from earlier today and you need your rest.”

She doesn’t say anything and watches as the bunch practically flee the room. She blinks slowly as the door slams closed behind Tony and she hesitantly looks up at James. “Are you okay, doll?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Soft**

Bucky doesn't move away from Addy as she leans into his side heavily, staring up at him.  Her eyes are still a bright color, though it's slowly melding into a honey and he can see them darkening by the second into their usual brown.

He frowns softly at her in concern as she doesn't answer his question.  She's just staring at him blankly, like she's actually looking  _through_  him rather than  _at_ him.  Without hesitation he grabs her hand in his, instinctually moving his thumb over her knuckles.

She continues to stare at him with her large eyes and he doesn't like what he sees in them.  There's pain, fear, sadness, and the one thing that makes his heart break.  Blankness and confusion.

From her reaction when Steve brought up  _someone_  hurting her, it was easy for him to connect the dots.  She was abused.  It's easy enough to see that, especially with all of the little hints and clues she leaves around.  He's surprised that it took so long for everyone to figure it out.

"Addy," he hums softly in a whisper, leaning down so his forehead presses against her's.  She doesn't react one bit as he stares into her eyes and he lets out a slow breath through his nose.  "C'mon, doll," he says, maneuvering himself so his left hand is pressed against her cheek.  He's not even thinking about what he's doing.  It's all familiar, somehow, and he knows that it comes from the old Bucky.  The Bucky that he used to be.  The Bucky that is slowly coming back because of  _her_.

"Adeline."  It comes out as a soft whisper and she blinks once.  Then twice and her eyes refocus.  A small smile lifts on Bucky's lips as her eyes widen at how close the two of them are.  "Are you alright?"  His lips nearly brush against her's and he leans back, moving his thumb across her cheek to catch a tear.  "No, no.  Don't do that, doll.  It's okay. You're safe."

She lifts her hand and it wraps around his wrist, halting the movement of his thumb.  She doesn't pull it away like he expected her to, she just grips it strongly.  If it was his right wrist that she was grabbing, he has no doubt that it would hurt.  Her claws have grown and they're pressing against the metal.  Not even scratching the surface.

She lets out a shuddering breath and closes her eyes, pressing the side of her face into his hand.  He continues rubbing his thumb along her cheek to soothe her.  When Eden opens her eyes again, they're dark brown and no longer glowing.  "Thank you," she says softly, looking into his eyes earnestly.

He grabs one of her hands with his other hand and rubs his thumb over her knuckles.  "You don't have to thank me, doll," he says in a whisper, afraid that anything louder will scare her away or bring her into another memory.  "Are you okay?"

He nearly frowns when she pulls away from him and shifts around on the couch so her feet are planted on the floor.  She nods her head, swallowing as she looks away from him.  He wants to reach out for her, to feel her again, but he's afraid that she'll flinch or become scared of him.  He doesn't believe for one moment that she's okay like she says she is.

"I-" she clears her throat and coughs.  "I should probably get going.  Get back to my room and get ready for bed."  He clenches his jaw at the shakiness he hears in her voice and how forced the words seem coming from her.

"I mean you could, if you want to, stay with me tonight," he looks down at his lap and away from her peering eyes.  "So you don't have to be alone.  I usually don't want to be alone after a flashback and I have a feeling that you don't want to be alone right now."  It's silent for a few moments and he slowly begins to tense up, afraid that he's scared her or that she took it the wrong way.

His head snaps in her direction as her hands rest against his metal hand.  He looks down at her small pale hands, looking too fragile on top of the dark gray of his hand.  He slowly turns his hand over, the plates shifting as his arm turns with it, and her small hand rests in his.  he stares at it for a few moments before his eyes raise to hers.

She licks her lips and chews on her lips for a few moments before breathing in a deep breath.  "I don't want to be alone tonight.  Would you mind if we watched a few movies?  Jus' to get my mind off things?"  He runs his thumb over her fingers and smiles softly at her.

"I'd like that, doll," he says in a low calm voice, still afraid that if he spoke any louder the moment will be broken.  His lips quirk up in a small smile as he looks into her large brown eyes.  "Maybe that one movie we started to watch last time?  The one about the wizard kid?  We never got to finish it."

She beams up at him and he feels like he's one the lottery because he got her to smile.  His own smile turns into a grin at that before his eyes flicker down to her lips and stay there.  He licks his lips and swallows heavily, his eyes flicking up to hers.

She blinks slowly as their eyes meet and there's a blush on her cheeks.  Her eyes flicker to his lips briefly and his breath catches in his throat.  She bites her lip and looks down, running the tips of her fingers softly over the creases of plates on his arm.

He can feel the warmth of her hand and how she's barely touching him.  He swallows as he realizes that she's not flinching from his arm.  Not looking at it in disgust or fear.  Not hating that it's a weapon and that the original has killed dozens of people.  She's being tender and gentle with him.  As if afraid that she'd hurt him.

He slowly lifts his left hand as he turns to her, her hand falling from his arm as her eyes flicker to his.  She doesn't look like she's breathing as he slowly brings his hand up to rest his hand at the base of her head, and to be honest, neither is he.  His heart pounds in his chest as he slowly licks his lips, leaning towards her slowly.

He stops as their noses brush against each other and her eyes flutter close as she nudges her nose against his.  He closes his eyes too and leans forward, his lips meeting her soft ones in a chaste kiss.

He tilts his head further to the side as he begins to move his lips against hers, and he hums low in his throat as her lips begin to move too.  His other hand rests on the other side of her face and both of her hands grip his wrists.

He doesn't attempt to deepen the kiss any more as he leans back and lets his forehead to rest against hers.  His eyes flicker open and he meets her eyes that are so dark that he can see his own blue reflected in them.  She lets out a shuddering breath as her eyes close again, a small smile on her lips.

He closes his eyes, too, as he nudges against her, his thumb moving softly against her cheek.  "That was long overdue," he whispers softly, his lips brushing against hers.  She nods softly in agreement and he nearly kisses her again.

"Yeah," she says softly.  "It was."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I suck at this type of stuff, oaky?


End file.
